Podolak retires (with Barta, Dolphin reaction)

 

Iowa radio football analyst and legendary Hawkeye Ed Podolak has retired from the booth in the wake of post-Outback Bowl bar photos.

The University of Iowa made the announcement Wednesday afternoon.

“We had been talking about all sorts of different scenarios moving forward, but they all became moot when we talked Sunday,” Iowa athletics director Gary Barta told The Gazette on Wednesday. “He called and said, ‘I’ve just decided I’m going to retire.’ “

The Gazette was told Podolak, 61, did not want to deal with any possible reprimand or sanction and will instead focus on a business venture in California. He commuted to Iowa games from the San Francisco area all season and that, according to a source, took a toll.

“I have notified Learfield Sports and the Iowa athletic department of my retirement from the Iowa football broadcasts,” Podolak said in a statement from the UI. “My multiyear contract with Learfield has expired and I will be 62 this year so it seems like a good time for a younger ex-Hawk to fill the spot.

“I have been wrestling with retirement through last fall as I have relocated my real estate business to northern California. The resulting commute to the Midwest each weekend has been challenging.

“I wish the Hawkeyes the best and will attend as many games as my schedule allows.”

Barta wouldn’t discuss if his talks with Podolak included any sort of discipline since the Outback Bowl photos surfaced last week. He said “many scenarios” were talked about.

A reprimand would’ve come from the UI in conjunction with Learfield Communications, which is technically the company that employs Podolak, a former Hawkeye running back and quarterback.

The UI doesn’t have the contractual right to remove a member of the Learfield broadcast team, but Iowa does approve Learfield’s talent. Legally, Podolak is an independent contractor for Learfield, but the two organizations collaborate on such decisions.

Podolak’s popularity with Iowa fans is off the charts. According to a source, Podolak would’ve had many members in the Hawkeye community come to his side.

“Ed and I had conversations about those photos over the weekend,” Barta said. “Maybe the conversations wouldn’t have occurred as quickly or in the same timeframe, but at the end of the day, we talked about several scenarios, but they became moot when he said he was going to retire.”

Three pictures of Podolak, including one in which he is looking down the blouse of an unidentified woman and another in which he appears to be intoxicated, started making the rounds on the Internet last week.

“I saw the photos. I was very disappointed in that,” Barta told The Gazette on Sunday. “Obviously it’s not the image that we expect to represent.”

In September 1997, Podolak was arrested for public intoxication and interference with official acts after Iowa City Police found him asleep on the UI’s Pentacrest. He pleaded guilty to both charges.

“Eddie’s been talking about retirement for two years, so I knew this day would come, I just didn’t think it would come this quickly,” said Gary Dolphin, Iowa’s play-by-play voice and Podolak’s partner in the booth for the last 12 seasons. “It’s a very sad day, Ed’s at peace with his decision and that’s good enough for me.

“He was a brother in broadcasting. We were joined at the hip in and out of the booth. He, like me, is small-town Iowa and loves the Hawks.”

In Wednesday’s statement, Barta focused on Podolak’s radio career and passion for Iowa football.

“Over the weekend Ed Podolak shared with me his desire to retire as our football color analyst, a position he has held for over 25 years,” Barta said. “He indicated he felt the time was right for him to step aside and devote more time to his business and other personal interests.

“It’s hard to put into words what Ed has meant to Iowa football, both as a player and a radio personality. His knowledge, insight and wit will be sorely missed when Hawkeye football is on the air. He has the unique ability to talk to Iowa fans in a way they clearly understand. He never hid his passion for the Hawkeyes and for that we’ll be eternally grateful.”

Iowa officials wouldn’t comment on a possible replacement, though the person will likely be a former player. Some of the logical names would include quarterback and Des Moines resident Chuck Hartlieb, defensive back Eric Thigpen, who’s co-hosted the Golden Harvest Hawkeye Huddle postgame show on WMT, and tight end Marv Cook, head football coach at Iowa City Regina who has done TV work with Iowa football.

“We’re looking for someone who has all the things that Ed brought to the air,” Barta said. “We’re looking for someone with great working knowledge of the game, someone who has incredible passion for the Hawkeyes and someone — and this is the part that’s hardest to find — who has the ability to take the knowledge, take the passion and bundle it up into a fun, exciting delivery over the air.

“Ed was fantastic at those three things and we’re looking for somebody who did what Ed did. Made it fun and exciting but had so much knowledge that it was legitimate.”

Barta would like to target the Hawkeyes’ spring game, so the new person and play-by-play voice Gary Dolphin would have some time behind the mic before the 2009 season begins Sept. 5 against Northern Iowa at Kinnick Stadium.

“In 36 years of play-by-play broadcasting, I’ve heard most of the good ones who’re college football analysts,” Dolphin said. “Eddie is in his own area code. He’s the best at painting the picture a fourth grader or senior citizen can understand with ease.”